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 In cinemas now [MA15+]
Director: David Gordon Green
Runtime: 107mins
I’m not the only one at last week’s screening of Pineapple Express who struggled to recall the stoner flicks of their youth, especially anything made by two of the greatest cinematic stoners of all time: Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong. But I’m a grumpy old man, and there are even better contemporary examples in Kevin Smith’s slackers Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob, played to muted effect by Smith himself. So Seth Rogen and James Franco had some pretty big shoes to fill for some audience members when they took on the drug-fucked roles of a stoner Process Server and the man who maintains his line of supply.
Rogen’s Dale Denton actually has a pretty good life. He drives a Cadillac loaded up with disguises that he uses in his job delivering subpoenas; a job he seems to enjoy immensely, since it gives him the opportunity to suck back as many joints as he can in a day, and still play dress-ups and offer service with a smile. At home, he’s in love with a drop-dead gorgeous high-school student, who – even with his dubious hygiene and an impressively proportioned paunch – adores Dale so much she can’t wait to have him around for dinner to meet her parents.
And Dale’s newest dealer Saul (James Franco) also loves his job, which – like Eric Stolz’s Lance in Pulp Fiction – gives him the chance to eat lots of cereal and watch as much TV as he wants. But Saul is nursing something of a muted bro-mance for his brand new client, and can’t resist offering him the best new hybrid skunk available: Pineapple Express, which has almost mythical powers of dope-ness. Problems arise when their two careers intersect, and Dale witnesses a murder involving one of the city’s drug kingpins. Suddenly, the pot-addled pair is on the run, Dale’s romance is on the rocks, and everyone’s life is under threat.
Viewers tempted to bong on before heading into the cinema to see this film should probably think again – Pineapple Express is less Up In Smoke or Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, and more of a weird, stoned version of Bad Boys; it seems director, David Gordon Green, screenwriters Rogan and Evan Goldberg, and the team at Apatow Productions weren’t that keen on a straight stoner story. Bizarrely, Pineapple Express quickly turns into an action flick, with an impressive bodycount. While nothing much happens overall, there are some very funny moments, including a hilarious supporting performance by Danny McBride. Peace out!
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TIM MILFULL
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